A Tale of Two Brothers
by lelizwe
Summary: We inherit our parents fate just as we inherit their looks, it runs through our veins and pleads with us to do things differently. Mufasa wants to listen. Scar has other ideas.
1. The New Generation

**(A** **/N:** **After months of developing useless Ahadi headcanons, I've finally decided to write them into a story. This is my version of Ahadi and Uru's backstory, as well as the childhood of Mufasa and Scar.**

 **As a heads up, I do not consider Simba's Pride canon, so there may be some contradictory lore here. You know how fanfiction goes.**

 **Enjoy, and please let me know what you think of it!**

* * *

The land knew something Ahadi didn't.

The dark-maned lion was resting upon a smooth rock surface. The structure inclined upwards and over the brow of a tall hill, giving him a helpful view of the plains where the gazelles grazed. It was where he came to keep an eye on things, dealing with the smaller, more menial issues in the Lands, while his wife, Uru, the true ruler of Pride Rock, dealt with the weighty business back home.

Anxiety nested in the pit of the King's stomach. Occasionally, his large paws would flex, itching with nerves. He flicked an ear, trying to make out the noise of something, _anything_ , but the Pride Lands was blanketed in unsettling silence. No crickets chirping among the grass reeds, no distant, echoing call of birds. And strangest of all, no gazelles. It was mid-afternoon—the place should've been crowded with herbivores.

The calm before the storm. The thought came to him suddenly and without warning, like a voice whispering into his ear. He hadn't been aware that one was brewing.

"The sky looks funny, doesn't it?" he mused to his companion.

"The eagle Gahiji says to expect a lightning storm," came the voice of the Pride Land's elephant matriarch, Obioma. She was feasting quietly on some of the leaves of a nearby marula tree. Her trunk lifted toward the dark sky, grey clouds swollen with hot air. "Says the wind feels right for it up there."

She looked back for a reaction, but the King did not give any indication that he had heard her. She forgave his lack of attentiveness. Today was a big day for him.

"It's been a long time since I experienced lightning during this point of the dry season, you know," she continued, picking off a fresh batch of leaves. It was the last this tree had to offer. "In fact, I suspect the last time was when you were a cub."

Ahadi's brow twitched. Still, he said nothing.

"Yes," Obi's trunk came to rest upon the marula. This grove had been here since she had first took up residency in the Lands. If the rain did not return soon, she would have to water it herself. "There were many storms during your childhood. The land still bears those burns, I think." She turned her great head to stare out into the plains. "You feel it in some places."

Finally, Ahadi replied, soft-spoken and thoughtful. "I know."

Another pang of anxiety hit his gut. He shifted restlessly, angling his body so he could speak to Obi and continue observing the strangely barren plains. He couldn't remember things ever being so quiet.

"Tell me, Obi, why you requested my presence."

The matriarch sighed, looking ashamed of herself for being the bearer of such information. "I'm afraid it's not good news, your majesty."

"When you come to me, it never is," Ahadi cracked a small smile, making the old elephant chuckle joylessly.

"I suppose not. My eldest was venturing near the borders a few days ago. You see, he had intended to visit my father's grave, but..."

"The hyenas," Ahadi finished, cringing. "Yes,I know. It's a sincere regret of mine that we haven't gotten rid of them yet. We're doing all we can to try and drive them out, but-"

"Their matriarch is heavily pregnant," the elephant interjected. Ahadi's tan face fell.

"To a stud named Azuz. Ebo is certain of it. He overheard two scouts. You know how those beasts are, they can hardly keep anything to themselves."

Ahadi's green eyes shut in pain. "Great Kings..."

Reports of the hyenas claiming territory in the Elephant Graveyard had been plaguing the Queen and King since they had taken over the throne. It was a relatively small pack at first, unusual for their species. It seemed that they had been testing the waters, seeing how much they could get away with before they built up a solid group. The sheer knowledge that the matriarch was willing to bring more pups into the world meant that they had a steady supply of food over there.

And the more hyenas there were, the more food they'd need.

"I would recommend doubling your patrols, sire. Employing some more lookouts is a good idea. Perhaps... tightening the laws regarding trespassing, for the time being. Until we can get rid of the vermin, so to speak."

"Yes," Ahadi agreed, and got up onto all four paws, nodding his silent thanks to his old friend. Obi always knew what to say. "Yes, you're right, of course. I'll tell Uru."

"We offer our assistance, as always," she bowed her head. "We understand that this wasn't your doing, Ahadi. We don't blame you. But we simply can't allow them to continue defacing our—"

"Your Majesty!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a cheetah cub. He hurtled toward them, paws skidding in the dirt as his lithe body came to a curt halt.

"It's the Queen," he panted. The mane on his back trembled with excitement he could hardly contain. "Congratulations, sir! You are a father!"

The anxiety in Ahadi's gut lifted momentarily, then came back down with a thud that make his back-legs feel weak. His mouth suddenly dried up.

"Well, er, thank you for sharing," he stammered, making his audience laugh. He turned to Obi. "I'm afraid I must cut our meeting short. We can discuss this another time."

"Of course," Obi's trunk grazed the lion's bulky shoulders. "Good luck, your highness. Send Uru my best wishes."

She smiled warmly as she bade the King farewell, watching him join the cheetah adolescent in a race back to Pride Rock. Once he was out of earshot, the matriarch heaved a great sigh, her massive shoulders going limp as she hung her head.

"You'll need it, my friend," Obi whispered under her breath.

She had seen the way Uru's stomach bulged during her last visit to Pride Rock. She could only hope that Ahadi was prepared for it.

* * *

King Ahadi's mind whirled. It had finally happened.

 _A new generation begins._

Uru had entered labour the previous morning. It was an agonising wait. The Pride Land's resident shaman, Rafiki, had stayed in their cave after Uru had first complained of stomach pains. He hadn't left her side since. It seemed to Ahadi that all those months of pregnancy hadn't been as long as he once thought they were. It reminded him of the days leading up to Uru's coronation. He hadn't been ready for _that_ , either.

Pride Rock came into view and the cheetah cub returned to his mother, grinning as he boasted about being presented the honour of announcing the Royal Birth. Ahadi would've liked to converse with the mother, an old friend of his, but there was no time for his usual courtesies, the politeness that had made him so popular with the Pride Landers. He had to see his Queen.

He hurriedly climbed the pathway that led up to Pride Rock. He barely noticed how his bones ached, although he regretted not stopping to take a drink somewhere. As he neared his home, Ahadi saw that their majordomo, a hornbill named Pili, was waiting for him. If his mind hadn't been so focused on his wife he may have picked up on her nervousness.

"Sire," she greeted the lion with a customary bow. "I'm sorry I couldn't come myself, the matter was too urgent for me to—"

"Is she alright?" The King asked.

"I believe so, but..." Pili shook her head briskly, dismissing whatever she had intended to say. "She needs you, Ahadi. Please tend to her."

Ahadi nodded and stopped outside the cave entrance. He could smell the blood of his birthing wife, and hear the tiny mews of their newborn. He closed his eyes and allowed a moment to compose himself. A few deep breaths later and he was stepping inside.

The air was stuffy and hot in the cave. He had an awful feeling that the anxiety from earlier was coming to a head, and instinctively he tensed his muscles, readying himself for some sort of surprise.

 _I'm a father,_ he thought, smiling weakly. _We have an heir._

The mews were getting louder. This little one was vocal.

Rafiki's grey fur was the first thing he made out in the darkness. The old mandrill sat faithfully at Uru's side, blocking Ahadi's view of his wife. His head was bowed, the hairs on his beard dancing as he gently breathed. When he turned to face Ahadi there was sadness in his bright eyes.

"Your Majesty, I..."

Ahadi frowned. Rafiki grabbed his stick and moved to reveal the brown-furred Queen.

Uru did not lift her head to greet her husband. Ahadi's maw formed soft, comforting words, but then he lowered his stare to her paws.

Cradled in her legs were lion cubs.

Uru had given birth to _two._

"Great Kings," Ahadi gasped. He felt his body began to sway unsteadily. The cave felt soft under his feet, and the air became heavier. There was less of it now and he couldn't get enough.

"I did not foresee..." Rafiki mumbled, brows furrowed in confusion. Fingers rubbed almost furiously at his temple. "There was no signs..."

"Leave us," Ahadi instructed sharply. His tone took on a strength he wasn't aware he still had, and one he didn't think he'd ever extend to someone as respected as Rafiki. The mandrill paused, surprised, then nodded slowly, making his way out of the cave.

"Take care, Uru," he murmured as he passed by the new mother. Still, Uru said nothing.

Ahadi released a shaky exhale and lowered his body to the ground. He flopped gracelessly beside his wife. "Uru..."

"Oh, Adi," Uru whispered after a moment's silence. The cubs wriggled in her arms, seeking nurture. Though he could not see it, he could sense her eyes were growing wet. "I'm so sorry."

Ahadi tried to wet his mouth. His whole throat was parched. "Both...?"

"Both boys," Uru confirmed hopelessly.

The world began to spin around the lion. He shook his thick mane, trying to force the thoughts out of his head. This had to be a nightmare. An awful nightmare, just like the ones he had experienced before he was to become King.

Silently, Uru began to sob. Thick tears rolled down her face, and she sniffed, trying to stop them before they wet her cubs.

"We've been cursed, Adi. They're finally punishing us."

 _No, of course not. The Great Kings have mercy. They see all. They'd understand that it wasn't our fault. We hadn't asked for it happen. There was nothing we could do..._

Those were the words Ahadi wanted to say. The words they both wanted to hear. But the King had promised his wife that he would never lie to her, no matter how daunting the truth was. They didn't want to be lied to, like they had been before. The truth was often an easier mouthful to swallow.

This could be the one exception, though.

Ahadi pressed his head into his wife's neck.

The King and Queen wept together.


	2. Brothers

Ahadi's father was a rogue by the name of Baako. Although he had been raised by the male throughout his entire cubhood, Ahadi had not known of his father's origins until shortly before the old lion's death.

Baako had been a _traditionalist_ , as his father-in-law, Mohatu used to say. He was part of a generation of lions who were thankfully dying out, leaving their vile mindsets to rot in the ground along with them. Ahadi's mother, Chuki, had originally been wed to the lion prince Jela. Baako and Jela had known each other during their cubhoods. Mohatu couldn't say if they had ever been friends. They certainly weren't friends when they eventually met again.

During a particularly wearying dry season many moons ago, Baako began to leave his mark around the borders of Chuki's childhood home, the lands she and her husband had recently inherited from Jela's parents. Jela would try to drive him out, but he could never find the mysterious stranger. Just when they would think the intruder had moved on, Baako would return, his scent inching closer and closer to the cave where the lionesses and their cubs slept at night. It lingered in the air, a constant presence to the worrying King and Queen. Jela soon took to giving up his rest so he could keep watch over the pride.

The first lightning storm Chuki could remember occurred on the night of her husband's death.

Baako and Jela entered a brawl that seemed to last from dusk until dawn. Chuki and the lionesses protected the cubs, creating a circle around them, pushing into their bodies with their warm pelts to muffle the sounds of tearing skin and splitting bones. Jela's snarls steadily diluted into pained whines over the course of the stormy evening. By the time the sun had rose above the Serengeti, he was no longer making any sort of noise. Chuki knew the fate of her husband long before Baako had let loose with his triumphant victory roar, one massive paw stood on Jela's open chest, pushing down into dead flesh. Baako was the reigning victor. His prize was slaughtering all of the cubs in front of their mothers, lest they too suffer the same fate. He impregnated Chuki as she wept, mourning over the death of her beloved.

Ahadi hadn't known any of this growing up, but he hadn't cared to seek answers. He never questioned the fact that his mother didn't sleep near his father in the den, preferring to be near her pride sisters. He never wondered why his aunts never had cubs of their own. He never thought on why he could smell the traces of old life around the family cave, and see signs that other young lions and lionesses had been here before him-at least not for too long.

All he knew was that he loved his father, his mother, and especially his little brother, Jibade.

"Don't move," his small voice whispered one sunny morning. He was hiding behind the torso of his Papa. Ever since Ahadi and his family had moved to the Pride Lands to live with Queen Sabra and the rest of Mohatu's pride, Mohatu had invited the cub to address him that way. _Practice for when you're older,_ he had said with a chuckle. Ahadi had asked his mother what he meant. She said it would become clear in time.

Mohatu, a professional when it came to baby-sitting, having been the caretaker of his younger sisters years ago, flicked an ear as he registered the cub's voice.

"Is he there?" Ahadi whispered. Mohatu's large chest rose and fell as he breathed. Silently, he nodded. A grin grew on the cub's miniature maw.

"Excellent."

"Adi? Adi...?"

Jibade frowned and came to a stop, carefully scanning the vibrant grasslands for his missing brother. "Adi, where are-"

 _"GOTCHA!"_

The smaller cub screamed as his brother suddenly shot out from behind the King. His paws weighed down on the cub's chest. He snapped his jaw in his face. Jibade laughed and kicked up his hindlegs, pushing into Ahadi's tummy and sending the older cub onto his back.

"Great shot!" Mohatu cheered. Jibade grinned, turning to bask in his praise.

"Thank you, Papa."

"Not so fast, Ji!"

And there was Ahadi again, pouncing onto Ji, digging tiny claws into his brother's fur. The cubs wrestled, tumbling, turning, until finally, Jibade ended up on his back with Ahadi firmly on top.

"Pinned ya!" The elder cub boasted. Ji rolled his eyes and tried to wriggle out from underneath. Ahadi flipped him and came down squarely on the cub's stomach, harshly this time, prompting a surprised gasp of breath from the little cub.

"Pinned ya again! Haha!"

Jibade whimpered and Ahadi finally let him go. The younger cub shrugged off the debris in his dark fur, pouting at his older brother, who strutted proudly toward their baby-sitter.

"Did ya see that? Huh? Did ya see me, Papa?"

"Mhm," Mohatu smiled weakly, his tongue extended to lick his front paw as he cleaned himself. Ahadi's brow creased in confusion.

"But... aren't you going to say anything?"

"Congratulations, young one."

"But you said-you told _him_ it was a great shot! What about me?"

"Ahadi, you always win," the lion reminded him gently. "I was encouraging Ji to do a little better, so that maybe he'd win this round."

"Well, he didn't. An' s'not my fault he stinks."

Ahadi turned his head toward his brother and stuck his little pink tongue out at him. Jibade stuck his back. Ahadi laughed and batted dirt at him, encouraging the younger male to do the same.

Mohatu's paw came down firmly on Ahadi's tail. The cub flopped onto his stomach and looked curiously at his elder.

"Ahadi," Mohatu began, lowering his voice so only he could hear it, while Ji was distracted with the nearby antelope. "Could you perhaps try to make it easier for your brother? It'd be awfully nice of you."

"But that wouldn't be fair," Ahadi protested.

"Yes, that's true," Mohatu agreed, not wanting to set the cub's morals astray. But Ahadi could see that there was something bothering the King. "But it would be helpf-"

"What's going on here, Mohatu?"

Baako's booming baritones came from behind the group and made each of them flinch. Mohatu relaxed on his side again, facing away from the hulking male while the cubs raced eagerly toward their father. Baako shot Mohatu a stern look. The cubs didn't catch it.

"Well, my boys?" Baako grinned, showing off rows of blood-stained teeth. The cubs raised their paws toward his huge face, pressing them into his rough features.

"Oh, daddy, you should've seen it!" Ahadi exclaimed. "We were playin' pounce, and I pinned Ji _twice!_ "

"Did you now?" A large paw smacked into Ahadi's back, pushing him toward his mane so he could be nuzzled. It hurt a little, as it always did, but Ahadi had gotten used to it. "My dear boy, you're making me very proud. You're getting stronger and stronger by the day."

Ahadi beamed, purring as he rubbed against his father's face.

"And as for you..."

Baako lifted his head to look down at the younger cub. His shadow was huge, enveloping the boy in darkness. The air felt colder now. Jibade tried his hardest not to shiver.

"Do better, child. I expect a little more from you."

Ji bowed his head and nodded. When Father was kind, it was the nicest feeling in the world. Sunshine during a cloudless afternoon couldn't compare to the warmth he felt when Father nurtured him. When he wasn't, it was... uncomfortable to be near him. He hadn't done anything aside from the occasional swat and growl, but the tone in which he addressed Jibade often made the cub's fine hair stand on end. There was feelings he got that didn't sit well with him. He wondered if Ahadi ever felt the same, though he never dared to ask, in fear that Father would overhear them. He seemed to hear everything.

"Yes, daddy. I will."

"I want to see a real fight next time," Baako said, his deep voice underlined with a rumbling growl. "Teeth _and_ claws. The whole lot!"

"You got it, dad!" Ahadi enthused. Jibade nodded weakly, forcing a smile. Baako smirked and turned away, flicking his tail close to Mohatu's face.

"I'll see you back at the den, old man."

"Yes, Baako," Mohatu replied plainly.

As Baako pushed his way through the grass reeds, Mohatu leaned over and dragged Ahadi closer to him. "Remember what I said?"

"I ain't letting Jibade win our next fight!" The child cried. Mohatu cringed at his loudness.

"Ssh, Ahadi, I didn't mean-"

A piercing roar made Mohatu instinctively shield both cubs. He knew as soon as he turned that Baako would be in his face, his breath washing Mohatu over with the smell of old carcasses.

"What are you telling him?" Baako snarled.

Mohatu didn't drop his gaze. He took a step closer to the scarred lion, towering above Baako, but not quite. Not enough to intimidate him.

"I was reminding your son about the importance of fairness," he calmly explained.

"Fairness," Baako scoffed. "That has nothing to do with what I'm teaching them."

"No, I suppose not."

"You know how these Lands work. How they've worked for _centuries_."

"Yes, I do. For I am the King." Mohatu reminded him. The cubs had huddled together, watching the adults stare each other down. Baako didn't say anything. Then he smiled, lazily and knowingly.

"For now, yes. But one day, that title will fall upon one of my boys..."

He turned to look down at the cubs. Ahadi could feel Jibade shaking. He leaned into him comfortingly.

"And the King should be the strongest, smartest lion in the pride. These fights determine that, do they not?"

"The King should be there to assist the ruling party, which I believe will be my daughter," Mohatu reminded him sternly. "I trust I can hand over the cub-watching to you, now. I have duties to attend to."

"Go fetch one of the lionesses," Baako dismissed with a huff. He turned and stalked away without giving Mohatu the chance to say otherwise. Mohatu watched him go until he was safely out of sight, and he could turn his back to the grasslands.

He sighed and looked down at the cubs.

"Well, boys. I'm sorry you had to see that. Your father and I are disagreeing quite frequently these days, aren't we?"

Ahadi and Jibade regained some courage and nodded.

"Why is Daddy so mad?" Ji asked softly. Mohatu breathed in the air from a passing breeze.

"Perhaps he's homesick," Mohatu answered. "He misses being back home, where he had a little more authority. I suspect your Father doesn't appreciate that he's no longer King."

"Daddy was never King," Ahadi noted. "Mama says we had to leave because the animals didn't trust him."

Mohatu's brow hitched upward, but his only response was a sway of his tail.

"What game can we play now?" Ahadi asked.

"How about we go visit my darling Uru? I could sure use her company right now," Mohatu suggested.

"Yeah! Uru!" Jibade cried happily, leaping into the air to swipe at Mohatu's long tail.

"Girls," Ahadi grimaced, kicking at the dirt. He followed behind his brother and Papa, moving curtly through the reeds. A butterfly fluttered past his head and rested somewhere behind him. Ahadi snapped around to catch it between his sharp teeth. It had settled upon the top of a small boulder. His rump wriggled as he lowered his body to the dirt, eyes focusing on it, then they were drawn toward a shape in the distance...

His ears flattened against his head as he noticed the shape standing up, neck stretching as it lifted its huge head, as if to follow something that was moving away.

It was Father.

He had been watching them.


End file.
